


eyes full of moonlight

by psharp10



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-30 23:40:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12119808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psharp10/pseuds/psharp10
Summary: They’ve been going strong but all of Junmyeon’s excuses for his monthly disappearances are getting weaker.





	eyes full of moonlight

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [cc_round4](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cc_round4) collection. 



> i would've loved to explore this further but i ended up scrapping my original draft just days before the deadline and so i tried to do my best ;;; thank you to the mods for being wonderful
> 
> hope this is enjoyable nonetheless~
> 
>  **Prompt:** jongdae has been going out with junmyeon for almost a year, and he's noticed that junmyeon disappears off the face of the earth for a day or two at around the same time every month. junmyeon has never told him, but he kind of has this condition that turns him into a mermaid every full moon.
> 
>  **Do not want:** heavy angst, sad ending

Everyday, one of the first things Junmyeon does when he wakes up is to roll over until the calendar on his bedside table is within reach. He picks up the calendar and whatever spare pen or marker he had dumped next to it the night before and crosses out the date on the calendar.

 

It’s a countdown till the full moon - till the day _that_ happens again.

 

On days like today, when Jongdae’s slept over, Junmyeon tries to be as discreet about it as possible. While they have been going out for almost a year, and Junmyeon’s almost completely sure that Jongdae’s quite possibly The One, he’s still not sure how to explain his condition. There’s no way to really say it out loud and expect the other person to accept whatever Junmyeon’s saying as both the truth or in general.

 

This morning, Junmyeon tries to roll over, only to be pulled back by Jongdae’s arm wrapped around his waist. Right back until Junmyeon’s ass lines up with Jongdae’s morning hard-on and okay, yes, okay. The calendar.

 

If Junmyeon doesn’t do it now, he’ll forget about it. He’s bound to - he needs to be better organized but he just ends up starting new organizing journals only to leave them a third or half full and then starting anew a few weeks later when the anxiety settles in again.

 

So he tries reaching out for the calendar, stretching out his arm, only to fall short by a few inches.

 

Cursing his height and short arms, he tries shifting again, only to be held back by a now seemingly half awake Jongdae, who lets out a small whine and mouths at Junmyeon’s bare shoulder. Junmyeon gasps, bites down on his bottom lip, curses a bit (in his head) again and then builds up his resolve to try once more.

 

“Just,” Junmyeon whispers to himself, “a little,” he reaches a bit more forward, only with his upper body stretching out, “more-” he gasps as his hand grips the calendar.

 

“Aha!” He lets out a little sigh of relief as he settles back into Jongdae’s embrace and relaxes until-

 

Right. The pen. Junmyeon looks over his shoulder to find that Jongdae’s still mostly asleep and he breathes in deeply. He can do this.

 

The next minute, as he reaches forward for the pen, the calendar slips from the bed with all the movement and lands with a thud on the floor. Jongdae lets out a groan, and then a yawn. He’s awake and well-

 

 _Well_ , fuck.

 

“What’re you doing up already?” Jongdae mumbles, eyes half closed with the lingering sleepiness.

 

“Nothing, just, marking...stuff.” Junmyeon sighs. That was convincing.

 

Jongdae raises an eyebrow, and the judgement and thinly veiled disbelief is apparent on his face even with his eyes closed and him not actually facing Junmyeon. Reaching for the calendar and quickly marking the date away, Junmyeon tries to think up of a convincing enough reason.

 

“My aunt’s birthday is coming up,” Junmyeon says after he’s done putting the calendar and pen back on the bedside table. “I’m doing this to remind myself to buy a present for her in time.”

 

It’s not entirely convincing enough, even Junmyeon can see that, but Jongdae hums and buys it nonetheless and Junmyeon later writes down a date to go to the temple this week in his planner. He has to give the due gratitude.

-

 

This month, the full moon seems to have come faster. Maybe it’s just the anxiety that’s been building up - but then that usually tends to make things go slower than expected, not faster. So Junmyeon decides that it must just be the workload at office. With him basically diving headfirst into his work files to keep his mind occupied instead of thinking about how there seems to be a small, slight divide between him and Jongdae, his actual thoughts about the full moon have taken a comfortable place in the backseat of his mind.

 

On the day before the full moon, Junmyeon sends a few quick texts to Jongdae in lieu of their usual phone calls to remind him that he’s going to be gone for the weekend. He then takes a small bag, puts in a change of clothes, toiletries, his phone’s charger and his phone. It’s become a routine now - doing this.

 

When he’s done packing, he makes sure to turn off all the lights in his apartment before he leaves for the Han river.

 

There’s a small snacks shop - a quasi-convenience store, really. Junmyeon has known Chanyeol, the owner, for about twelve years now and they may as well be best friends with how often Junmyeon visits Chanyeol and how they both barely have any secrets between them.

 

“What was your excuse this time?” Chanyeol asks, once greetings have been said and they’re on their way to the back of the shop, where Chanyeol’s office is - that is actually the room for the the stocks and extra inventory items. Chanyeol just likes to have a certain air about these things; Junmyeon doesn’t object, he understands.

 

“Aunt’s birthday,” Junmyeon says, sighing and tossing his bag onto the bean-bag next to the desk. “I don’t think he completely bought it. I’ll have to think of better things, but there’s really not much else I can use.”

 

“Or you can just tell him the truth?” Chanyeol raises his eyebrows as he rolls around on his revolving chair.

 

“And have him not believe me and think it’s me trying to find a way out of breaking up with him clearly?” Junmyeon huffs and pushes his bag off the bean-bag and takes the spot instead.

 

Chanyeol shrugs. “You really don’t know Jongdae at all, hyung. I feel like _I_ know him better than you, even though all that I know about him is through what you’ve told me. Also, I think you gave the aunt’s birthday excuse two months ago too.”

 

Junmyeon sits up.

 

“I did not.”

 

Chanyeol rolls the chair around once more.

 

“Did I?” There’s panic and anxiety creeping just in in his voice. Chanyeol stops the chair from moving.

 

“I think you did.” It’s very matter-of-fact. Very blunt.

 

Junmyeon promptly slides off of the bean-bag and turns around so that he can smush his face into the bean-bag. Well there’s that. No wonder Jongdae looked so suspicious. Junmyeon really has to fix this - but after the full moon has passed, of course.

 

-

 

Here’s what Junmyeon’s problem, or rather, his “condition,” really is. For whatever reason, Junmyeon, since the age of five, has had a condition that has him turning into a mermaid during the full moon. It’s a full one day thing and Junmyeon has been going through it for the past twenty three years. He doesn’t really know why or how it happened, but- Junmyeon likes to believe his mother’s folktales and stories and say it’s because of the pact that his mother made with the river goddess when she was young and a single pregnant woman working to feed herself and find a footing.

 

Knowing his mother, it is more likely than not the truth.

 

After befriending Chanyeol in high school, Junmyeon’s been coming with him to the Han river every month to spend his full moon in the water - aside from the few times they had gone on road trips and Junmyeon had the pleasure of getting the experience of being a mermaid in the sea. Those were truly unforgettable memories. Since Chanyeol’s father passed away, Chanyeol took over managing the shop along with his side gig of being in a local band and Junmyeon’s convenient rest place for a few hours before and after the full moon continued to be the shop.

 

No one really, apart from his family, Chanyeol and Chanyeol’s family as well as Chanyeol’s boyfriend, Kyungsoo, know about Junmyeon’s condition. And this is where Jongdae comes in, the perfect snarky man who teases Junmyeon about all his bad jokes but still laughs along with them, and whom Junmyeon fell in love with over the past year. They’ve been going strong but all of Junmyeon’s excuses for his monthly disappearances are getting weaker.

 

-

 

The water is familiar. By now, it’s a second home.

 

Junmyeon swims to the bottom of the river as soon as he gets into the water, feeling his tail and making sure it’s still as strong as he remembers it to be. Being inside the water is like a breath of fresh air. The soft gills that appear on the sides of his neck are painless now, and the barely webbed fingers no longer seem strange. Twenty three years of being a mermaid once a month does that to you.

 

“Feeling fresh?” Chanyeol asks, his voice seeming booming in the quiet of the night.

 

Junmyeon splashes a bit of water on Chanyeol with his tail and then laughs as he watches his friend flail around with all his long limbs going everywhere. “Yeah, it’s great. The best stress reliever, to be honest.”

 

Chanyeol hums and then settles again, bringing out his guitar from its case and strumming a few notes.

 

“Chanyeol-ah,” Junmyeon rests on a nearby rock, tail idly moving with the weak current of the river, “tell me how to tell Jongdae about this.”

 

Chanyeol scrunches his nose. “Ask Kyungsoo, not me. I’m not good at these things.”

 

And, well, he’s not _wrong_ about that. Chanyeol had planned for months on how to ask Kyungsoo out only to end up with his voice breaking in the middle and then because of the surprise at that, slipping on the wet grass and falling face first with the bouquet of flowers he had bought for Kyungsoo. Very romantic.

 

Kyungsoo, at that moment, walks out towards their meeting spot with two beer cans in hand. Chanyeol had called them over for their monthly, regularly scheduled get together.

 

“Help him,” Chanyeol says and then takes one of the cans from Kyungsoo’s hands.

 

“Still stuck on how to tell Jongdae?” Kyungsoo asks, making himself comfortable.

 

“Yes.” Junmyeon exaggerates his pout in hopes of pity and extra good guidance.

 

Kyungsoo takes a long sip from his can, and then takes a few moments to savour the taste before he begins. “Honestly, just bring him with you next month. Showing him will be easier than anything words can do, and anyway, when he sees it, he wouldn’t be able to deny it.”

 

That seems much easier said than done, but Junmyeon accepts it nonetheless. It’s a better solution than any of the excuses he’s been using over the past year. They’ve reached the tipping point in their relationship, and Junmyeon really, _really_ needs to do this.

 

-

 

In the following weeks, Junmyeon tries his best to be better to Jongdae. On the Saturday after the full moon when they meet up, Jongdae brings up his aunt in the middle of dinner, and there’s something about the expecting look that he gives Junmyeon that makes Junmyeon feel ten times guiltier.

 

“It was fun,” Junmyeon says, after eating a spoonful of rice. “My aunt liked her present a lot.”

 

“Oh?” Jongdae’s eyebrow quirks up. Junmyeon can almost see the impatience in Jongdae’s actions - he knows what Jongdae wants, the only thing is, he can’t give it right now. “What did you get her?”

 

“A necklace,” Junmyeon replies, a bit hurriedly. Not the smartest thing to do.

 

Jongdae hums, and then goes back to his food. Junmyeon feels a sense of unease trickle into him, settling deep in the pit of his stomach and taking away his appetite.

 

The rest of the dinner goes by slow, and at the end, Junmyeon volunteers to do the dishes as Jongdae selects a movie to watch. It’s their weekly movie night, and by the time Junmyeon finishes the dishes, the mood is noticeably lighter.

 

The small makeshift fort they had created out of extra blankets and pillows is still in its place (blame Junmyeon’s laziness and lack of motivation to clean up), so they settle into it. Junmyeon’s heart eases a bit when Jongdae sits right next to him, throwing one of his legs over and in between Junmyeon’s, making himself comfortable.

 

As usual, they pay minimal attention to the movie, spending most of the time mindlessly chatting about actors or actresses in the movie, any recent gossip that’s come from Baekhyun, and what to make for breakfast tomorrow (Junmyeon says it’s a waffle kind of day, Jongdae raises an eyebrow and highly judgmentally says it’s a pancake one).

 

By the end of the movie, Jongdae’s falling asleep and Junmyeon’s still playing around with Jongdae’s fingers and hands, tracing soft lines over the palms.

 

“I want to show you something,” Junmyeon whispers, leaning his head against Jongdae’s, who’s resting his head in the crook of Junmyeon’s neck, on his shoulder. “I want to tell you the truth.”

 

“Hmm?” Jongdae mumbles, barely catching onto anything Junmyeon says.

 

“Nothing,” Junmyeon says, picking up the remote to turn the tv off. “I was saying we should go sleep in the bedroom, Jongdae-yah, otherwise your back will hurt tomorrow.”

 

“You’re the old one,” Jongdae snarks back, barely any bite with sleep muffling his voice.

 

“One year older!” Junmyeon replies, indignant.

  
Jongdae chuckles and Junmyeon smiles, pressing a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead before helping him up and letting Jongdae lean on him as they walk towards what has basically become a shared bedroom over the past three months.

 

-

 

As the full moon once again nears, Junmyeon’s anxiety grows again. His phone bill takes a hit with how much he calls Kyungsoo just for advice and some reassurance, if nothing else. He can, more often than not, hear Chanyeol playing the guitar in the back, and that helps him settle a bit, takes his mind off of the whole mermaid situation.

 

The best solution, he devises, is to stay occupied, and so he does his best with everything.

 

Morning showers turn into a place and time where Junmyeon can blow Jongdae, at least twice a week - thrice if he’s feeling particularly overwhelmed. Jongdae entangles his fingers in Junmyeon’s hair and pulls, not too hard, setting the pace as he slowly fucks Junmyeon’s mouth. It’s a method of stress relief for both of them, and their days go better after that too - so there’s no harm.

 

Junmyeon, on weekends, fucks himself open with his fingers first, then a dildo, before fitting a buttplug in snuggly until Jongdae returns from his hang out with Baekhyun and Minseok. He lies on the bed with his legs spread - Jongdae has to get the best view, after all - and grins when he notices the lust darken Jongdae’s eyes, gaze checking out Junmyeon’s completely debauched look.

 

“Is your libido particularly high this month or what?” Jongdae finally asks him just three days before full moon.

 

Junmyeon stops his leg from jiggling, swallows the piece of meat he was chewing on and looks up, eyes wide. “Uh-”

 

“I mean, not that I mind, hyung,” Jongdae says, “but is your ass okay? Aren’t you sore?”

 

“Giving yourself a lot of credit, huh, Jongdae-yah?” Junmyeon’s lips twitch up as he tries to joke, shift the focus of the question.

 

“Come on,” Jongdae gives an unimpressed look and Junmyeon laughs, covering his mouth with his hand. “Hyu~ng.”

 

“Jo~ngdae,” Junmyeon whines back, imitating his partner, but then shuts up at the mock serious glare Jongdae pins him down with. “Don’t worry, Jongdae-yah, I’m fine. My ass is strong and wonderful.”

 

Jongdae snorts. “Who’s giving himself a lot of credit now, huh?”

 

Junmyeon simply smiles wider in return, cheeks tinted pink.

 

-

 

Two days later, Junmyeon finally takes the first step forward.

 

“Jongdae-yah,” he begins, licking over his bottom lip.

 

“Mhm?” Jongdae looks up from his phone and looks at Junmyeon. They’re sitting on opposite ends of the sofa with their legs entangled.

 

Junmyeon curls and uncurls his toes, building up his courage. “Will you come with me somewhere tonight?”

 

It’s the first full moon eve that Junmyeon didn’t plan ahead for - that he didn’t make up any excuse for why Jongdae and him couldn’t meet up. He still crossed out the dates on the calendar, but discreetly enough that Jongdae didn’t really notice it - or perhaps he didn’t feel like asking again this time, Junmyeon thinks, a bit sad.

 

“You don’t have to be anywhere tomorrow?” Jongdae asks, and Junmyeon knows where this is coming from, it’s why he needs to do this.

 

“I do, but I want to be there with you.”

 

Both of Jongdae’s eyebrows rise up. This - this is new. Jongdae’s not so dense that he doesn’t realize that it’s on full moon every month for the past twelve or so months that Junmyeon’s been disappearing, or at least staying away from him.

 

“That was really greasy, hyung,” Jongdae replies to mask the surprise in his voice, his face already compromised.

 

“I want to be completely honest with you now, Jongdae,” Junmyeon says, unconsciously fiddling with his fingers, and then the edge of his t-shirt. “I know I’ve been making a lot of excuses for the past few months, especially at every full moon, and it’s not fair to you. I had my reasons, but it’s not fair to you, so I want to share my reasons with you.”

 

“So, tell me.” Jongdae says, putting his phone face down on the coffee table, his focus completely on Junmyeon.

 

“I...can’t,” Junmyeon starts, and Jongdae frowns, so Junmyeon hurries, “it’s not really something I can just say. I want to show it to you.”

 

“O...kay.” Jongdae narrows his eyes a bit, but gives in.

 

In the next fifteen minutes, Junmyeon takes out his packed backpack, and leads Jongdae to the car, then driving down to Chanyeol’s shop near Han River.

 

Junmyeon can tell that Jongdae’s curiosity is growing by the second, and so he tries to keep up, driving a bit faster - but not too fast, that will be a bit too anxiety inducing, even in the relatively empty night streets.

 

It’s twenty minutes to midnight when they reach.

 

“You must be Jongdae,” Chanyeol says, grinning widely when he makes eye contact with Jongdae.

 

Jongdae nods and smiles back. “You’re Chanyeol?”

 

“Ah, so I see Junmyeonnie has talked about me!” Chanyeol exclaims, and then drapes an arm each over Jongdae and Junmyeon’s shoulders, taking them to his office. “That’s good to know.”

 

“I’m still your hyung, you brat,” Junmyeon replies, poking Chanyeol in the waist, making him yelp and jump a bit, bumping into Jongdae.

 

Jongdae watches Junmyeon and Chanyeol’s antics with a weird twist to his smile. There’s just something slightly unsettling about this, even if Jongdae has never doubted Junmyeon’s loyalty.

 

The shop’s door jingles right then, and Chanyeol perks up. “That must be Kyungsoo!”

 

He rushes to the front, leaving Jongdae and Junmyeon slightly awkwardly standing a few inches apart.

 

“Who’s Kyungsoo?” Jongdae asks, walking with Junmyeon to the front of the store again.

 

“Chanyeol’s boyfriend,” Junmyeon says and Jongdae nods, feeling an odd sense of relief in his chest. At least this much is now clear.

 

Five minutes later, they’re all settled in Chanyeol’s office as Junmyeon goes into the bathroom to change his clothes. All he had said to Jongdae was “don’t ask questions right now, until midnight, then ask all you want” before going into the bathroom and when Jongdae had looked at the other couple questioningly, they had simply shrugged before launching into a new conversation with basic introductions and small talk.

 

Junmyeon walks out of the bathroom in pair of trunks and Jongdae opens his mouth, ready to question, until he remembers Junmyeon’s earlier request and then closes his mouth.

 

“Let’s go,” Junmyeon says, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly as Jongdae stands up to leave, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo decide to stay inside and give Jongdae and Junmyeon the privacy they need.

 

They walk down to the edge of the river, and Junmyeon shivers, there’s a slight chill tonight, so Jongdae keeps him close with an arm around Junmyeon’s waist.

 

“Jongdae,” Junmyeon turns around to face the younger - barely two minutes left now - and holds onto Jongdae’s hands, “I hope you know that I really do love you.”

 

“Of course I know, hyung, I do too, but-” Jongdae begins, but then is cut off as Junmyeon leans in to press a brief, soft kiss against Jongdae’s lips. Jongdae kisses back earnestly, but his eyebrows are still furrowed when Junmyeon pulls away, worry lacing his tone as he asks - “Is everything okay?”

 

Junmyeon nods, and takes two steps forward, steps out of his trunks and then into the water.

 

Jongdae’s a bit too speechless to really say anything at the nakedness, but then Junmyeon transforms in front of him and all the thoughts in his mind really die down for a moment.

 

Junmyeon raises his tail behind him after coming up from going underwater for a few seconds. It doesn’t look real - but it _does_ \- rather, it doesn’t look possible, Jongdae thinks, as he watches Junmyeon look up at him with an uncertain expression.

 

“This is it,” Junmyeon says, breaking the long pause of silence that had enveloped them.

 

“Jongdae-yah?” He asks again when Jongdae says nothing, his gaze and focus too fixated on Junmyeon’s tail.

 

“You’re...you’re a mermaid,” Jongdae says, very matter-of-factly, his voice completely blank, too hard for Junmyeon to really gauge at what Jongdae’s thinking, what he’s feeling even.

 

“Yes.” Junmyeon breathes out, and then swims closer to Jongdae, who also moves closer on his own accord. “Once a month. It’s just some situation, some condition, that’s been there for the past twenty three years, and I didn’t know how to tell you.”

 

Junmyeon bites down on his lip as Jongdae takes his time to formulate a response.

 

“I would also find it hard to explain,” Jongdae finally says, after what feels like another too long pause to Junmyeon.

 

“So…”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“Okay.” Jongdae smiles, and the way the ends of his lips curl up is so familiar, Junmyeon feels a sense of relief and happiness burst simultaneously inside his chest, making him feel lighter immediately. “Tell me about the story then - I’m guessing you have at least some theories behind this?”

 

Junmyeon grins back and laughs, a bit breathless at how much better he feels now. “I do,” he says, and then he begins to recount the folktales mixed in with anecdotes that his mother used to tell him.

 

Jongdae sits with his legs dipped in the water and holds one of Junmyeon’s hands as they talk, marveling at the webs in his between his fingers, eyes trailing over the gills on the sides of Junmyeon’s neck.

 

“You’re beautiful,” Jongdae tells him, in between one of the tales, as the moonlight makes the teal, blue and green colours of Junmyeon’s tail shimmer in the water.

 

Junmyeon presses a kiss to Jongdae’s palm and whispers the same words back to him.

**Author's Note:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


End file.
